What A Disaster
by StryderMel
Summary: [High School AU] Alec McDowell, ladies man, popular, womanizer, ignorant asshole. Max Guevara, school queen, every guys dream, popular, down-to-earth. And Biggs. [Many ships/not clear what to make canon yet]
1. Chapter 1

Alec leaned against the fence, watching the familiar car drive by. A grin appeared on his face, as a black-haired guy exited the car.

"Al!", Biggs shouted, laughing while walking over to his best friend.

"Biggsy", he answered, giving him a quick hug. "How was the ride?

Shrugging, Biggs said: "Yeah. Alright. Just happy to be here." He turned around, waving to his mother only half-hearted and turned back to his friend.

Alec grinned and showed his friend the way into the school. "You're gonna love it here. Many nice girls", he said, wiggling his eyebrows and patting Biggs' back. "If you know what I mean."

"I think I do", he mumbled and laughed right afterwards. "You're like the star here?"

Nodding, Alec held the door open. "You bet. Girls go crazy because of me. But it seems like I'm gonna have a rival, huh?"

"Definitely", Biggs answered, punching his friends' arm playfully. "You know me, so you know what my first question is, right?"

Alec rolled his eyes, but nodded. "Yes, there is a girl that no one can reach. But she has a crush on Cale, so…"

Biggs raised an eyebrow. "Cale?"

The blonde tried to suppress a grin. He failed. "Mr. Cale. Our IT teacher."

"Oh, damn", said Biggsy, successfully suppressing a laugh. "A teacher? That girl knows what's up."

Alec shrugged, as they walked to their next lesson. "She's not the only one, though. He's, like my only rival."

Noticing, how hard the black-haired guy tried not to laugh out loud, Alec slapped the back of his head. "Sorry", he whispered, chuckling slightly. "So, what's that girl's name?"

Alec made a grimace, showing, that he had a bad past with her. "Max Guevara."

* * *

Max sneezed suddenly. "Ugh", she whispered.

"Bless ya", said Original Cindy, grinning at her friend. "Someone been talking about you, I bet."

She rolled her eyes, watching as Mrs. Riley kept talking about biological crap, so Max just got back into her daydream, where she and Mr. Cale would just…

She snapped out of her dream, as the door to the classroom was opened and Alec McDowell and another guy came in. Annoyed, she rolled her eyes and looked out of the window, knowing already, that the new guy was the same kind of asshole, as his best friend. "Hey, sorry, Mrs. R. That's Biggs. He's new here. Just sayin'."

He made his way to his seat, grinning at Max, who caught herself watching him. She shook her head and looked away, noticing the way _Biggs_ stared at her. Sighing, she looked to OC, not knowing what to do exactly. "Another one", she whispered.

Cindy understood and giggled slightly, watching Biggs smiling at the girls in the classroom.

Mrs. Riley seemed confused, but managed to smile. "Uhm. Yes. Hello then, Mr.…"

"Just Biggs", the guy answered, a self-confident smile on his lips. "Nice to meet you, guys."

Most of the girls seemed taken aback. Playing with their hair, Max heard Alec laugh silently, watching his friend and she glared at him, knowing, that he would notice it. He turned towards her and shrugged slightly.

Fixing her attention back on the lesson, she wrote down what stood on the chalkboard, trying to ignore the two womanizers and their annoying giggling.

When the lesson ended, Max stood up immediately, trying to avoid Alec and Biggs, but she wasn't fast enough.

"Hey, Guevara. That's Biggs. Biggsy, Max", Alec announced, grinning at both of them and then at OC. "And that's Original Cindy."

Cindy nodded and turned away again. Max sighed, but tried to smile for Biggs. It worked… Kind of. "It's nice to meet you", she said, holding out a hand.

Biggs grinned and shook it. "It's nice to meet you, too."

Max nodded, then looking back at Cindy. "Alright. I gotta go now. See you around, I guess."

Biggs glanced at Alec for a second, than he smiled back at Max. "Good. I do hope so."

The brown-haired girl nodded, before turning around and leaving the class room.

"Was nice talking to you, Guevara!", she heard Alec call after her.

"Shut the fuck up, McDowell!", she yelled back, not caring about the people who turned to her, hearing her vulgar choice of words. OC tried to suppress a smile, but Max noticed anyway. "Anything you want to tell me?"

"No, no", she said, waving it away. "It's just… I know that Alec is an idiot, Boo, but… You think he's interesting, don't you?"

Max shook her head, too astonished to say something. She found her voice back soon. "No, I don't. He's an ignorant ass." She fastened her step, trying to avoid the topic.

But she heard Cindy's mumbled words anyway. "I ship it."

* * *

Biggs stared after Max, enjoying the view as he turned back to his best friend. "Damn", he said, still grinning. "You're right, she's incredible."

Alec just shrugged and winked afterwards. "Told you so. But she's untouchable, believe me, I've tried."

Laughing, Biggs punched Alec's shoulder playfully. "I bet you did. I don't blame you." He started to walk again, followed by his friend. "She can kick ass real good, can't she?"

"You wouldn't believe it", the blonde murmured, obviously remembering a confrontation with the pretty brunette.

Grinning all the way to the cafeteria, Biggs winked at girls and all of them seemed to blush at his charming gestures. _Still got it_, he thought to himself and turned towards Alec. "Almost three years in the desert and I still got it."

"Of course you still got it, Biggsy", the slightly taller man said, giving his shoulder a fist bump.

They got themselves something to eat and sat down on a table. That was when a pretty blonde came over. "Hello, Alec."

Alec smiled charmingly at her. "Hello there, Asha. How're you doing?"

She smiled back, quickly glancing at Biggs. "I'm fine. Who's your friend?"

"That's Biggs. Biggs, that here is Asha Barlow. She's a good friend."

Biggs heard the undertone, meaning 'Keep your hands off her, she's mine.' The dark-haired guy nodded and smiles politely. "Nice to meet you, Asha."

Asha sat down beside them and answered: "Nice to meet you, too, Biggs." Then she fell into a conversation with Alec.

_Oh, that's a real drama here_, he thought, as he saw, from the instantaneous angle, how Max glared at Alec, uncaught. Biggs smiled to himself, already enjoying the fuss that would break free soon enough.


	2. Chapter 2

Max caught herself staring at Alec and Asha, then she turned away quickly. Okay, she wasn't really a fan of Asha, everyone knew that, and she didn't really get along with Alec, that wasn't a secret either, but why did she care about them _talking_ to each other? She cleared her throat and turned to OC, trying to hide her rage.

Asha was the one who always jumped around Mr. Cale, like when Max wanted to talk to him, the blonde always came in between, which was annoying and had the two girls fight several times. Of course Max was the one to always win, she was the best fighter on school either way, but it still tired her out.

"You alright?", OC asked, looking at her best friend, worried.

Max shook her head and tried to ignore her massive want to jump up and punch Asha in the face. "Yeah, sure. 's just Asha."

Cindy nodded, though not really convinced. "Asha who's talkin' to Alec?"

"Shut up", Max warned, a little glare in her eyes. "It's not like that between me and McDowell and you know that."

"'f course I do, Boo", Original Cindy answered, waving, as Cece came over. "Hey, cutie. What's up?"

She shrugged, sitting down beside Max, a small smile on her face. "Nothing much. How're you two doing?"

Both girls told their friend they're fine and Cece just smiled happily. "What's with that smile?", Max asked, not being able not to smile back at her big grin.

She looked around, as if trying to see, if someone was listening. "Sketchy talked to me today", she whispered and a blush made its way across her cheeks.

Max and OC exchanged a look, actually surprised. "He did?", Cindy asked. "What were you talking about?"

"Oh", Cece said. "Just the normal stuff, you know. School, books, the _ball_!"

Wide eyed, Max stared at her and slapped her on the arm. "No way! He asked you to go to the ball with you?!"

Nodding, Cece pulled at her cap. "And I said yes! I'm going to the ball with Sketch!"

OC pulled her into a hug immediately. "Oh, I'm so happy for you, dear!" Then her eyes drifted off. "Speaking of the devil…"

Max followed her gaze over to the table where Alec, Asha and Biggs sat at and made a non-human sound of disgust. Sketchy was joining them and Alec was using him again for his stupid needs. "What an ass."

* * *

Alec was talking to Asha, when Sketch came over and sit down across from Asha. "Hey, guys", he said, a little smile over his features.

"Hey, Sketchy", Alec answered and looked over to Biggs. "Sketch, that's Biggs. Biggs, Sketch."

Biggs nodded and Sketch nodded back.

For a few seconds, Alec stared at him and then noticed, that he probably should be talking to his goofball friend, and why he did smile that weird smile. "What happened to you, man? You seem very happy."

"Well, I am", answered Sketch and looked over to where Max, OC and now Cece sat. "I asked Cece to the ball and she said yes."

Impressed, Alec raised an eyebrow. Cece was not the one to go to balls, she was more the one to hang with friends, ignoring all kinds of girly stuff. "Hey, congrats man. She's a nice girl."

Biggs looked over and shrugged. "Pretty she is, yeah", he said, looking around in the cafeteria. "So, a ball, yeah?"

Alec nodded, looking back at Asha. "Yeah, but it's in a month, so you got plenty of time to ask one girl."

Asha blushed a little bit and looked away, then Biggs began to talk again and she fixed her attention on him. "I think I'm gonna ask Guevara."

Choking on the coke he was drinking, Alec turned to him wide-eyed. "What?"

Biggs shrugged, a sly grin on his face. "I like danger, you know that. She looks interesting and I like getting my ass kicked, so I can only win", he said, a wide grin on his face.

Alec looked at him and for a brief moment, something hot made its way through his stomach. He ignored it and looked back at Sketchy. "Well, whatever you say, man. But she's the devil. Right, Sketch?"

Sketch nodded, a shiver running down his spine. "I mean, we're friends and all, but she can be freaking scary sometimes."

"You're friends?", Biggs asked, kind of confused.

Alec shrugged. "Yeah, they are. Cece is a friend of mine, too."

"Huh", Biggs answered, trying to suppress his astonishment.

"Anyway", Alec said, looking directly at Sketchy. "Because it's a big day, you gonna bring me a coke, okay, Sketch?"

The two blondes just stared at each other for a while, then Sketchy stood up, rolling his eyes. "Alright, alright. A coke. You want something two, guys? Asha? Biggs?"

Biggs thought for a while, then he smiled. "Yeah, I'd like a coke, too."

Sketch nodded, looking at the blonde woman. "Asha?"

But she just shook her head and got up. "I have something to do…" Her gaze was on Mr. Cale and Alec suppressed a groan of annoyance.

Both went away and Alec glared at Cale. "Ugh, that man is just a pain in my ass!"

Trying not to grin, Biggs looked at the teacher. "So that's the Cale guy, huh? Gotta say, he's not as ugly as I imagined."

"Yeah, and that's the problem." He looked over to where Max sat and noticed, that she was staring after Asha, a glare on her face as well. "Oh, I gotta do something. Wait here." He stood and went over to the brown-haired girl and just as she wanted to get up, he pushed her down softly and sat beside her. "What's up, Maxie? Jealous?"

She glared at him, angry, trying to get past him, but he wouldn't let her. "First", she mumbled. "Don't call me _Maxie_. Second", she said, a little louder. "I am not jealous. Now let me out!"

He smirked and patted her head slightly. She slapped his hand away and started to push him. But he leaned against it. "Ah, sorry, dear. I don't think I can do that. He's a teacher, just let it go." He looked at Cece and smiled. "Congrats on the date with Sketch!"

Confused, she still managed to smile. "Why, thank you, Alec."

"McDowell, I swear to god –", Max said, but she was interrupted.

"Oh, Guevara, you never cease to enjoy me." He smiled at her and took her arms to keep her from pushing him. He then leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Cale is not interested in little high school girls. How about you try someone your own age?"

She scooted away from him, a mixture of confusion, disgust and arousal on her face. "Shut up!", she said, while her cheeks started to warm up. "God, you're embarrassing!"

Alec grinned and got up. "Just think about it", he said with a wink and went away, listening, how she said to OC: "Why didn't you help me?" and Cindy's laughing.

* * *

Biggs watched the way his best friend was whispering in Max's ear and couldn't stop himself from smiling. _Oh, man… This is not good, brother_, he thought and nodded at Sketchy who just came back with three cokes in his hands. "Thank you", he said and took one.

Sketch looked over to Alec and the girls and sighed. "Not that again."

"He does that more often?", Biggs asked, trying very hard now not to grin.

The blonde nodded, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "He has some guts, seriously. But it's weird, too. Alec is the only one Max wouldn't kick across the room… Well, she did that once, to be honest, but she apologized for that. And that's something, believe me."

Biggs suppressed a chuckle, when Alec came back with a huge grin on his face. "Now that was refreshing", he said, while he sat down beside Biggs and grabbed a coke. "What are you laughing about?" He turned to Biggs.

"I'm not laughing", the black-haired guy answered, looking into another direction.

Alec rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. As if I don't know you. What's up?"

Biggs shrugged, glanced at Max and then back at his best friend. "I want to know your story."

"With Max?", Alec asked, one eyebrow raised. "There's not much to say."

Biggs nodded in disbelieve. "Yeah, sure, and I'm a Disney princess."

"Dude", Alec answered, a little smile on his lips. "You are."

Biggs punched him in the arm and chose to leave it. For now. He looked back at Max, who seemed pretty confused and looked at Alec, then back at Mr. Cale, back at Alec, and so on. She bit her lip and laid her head on the table. _Now, now_, Biggs thought and sighed. _So I have to fix my best friends' love life. Again… Well… Here we go._


	3. Chapter 3

**Reviews make a writer write faster :3**

**Oh shit, I'm enjoying my own story! But I'm really pumped for following chapters! I have so many plans in my head! :D**

**Please keep reviewing, it makes me really happy :D**

* * *

„I _hate_ the zoo", Biggs said, rolling his eyes, as he sat next to his best friend in the school bus.

Alec chuckled slightly, as he kicked the seat in front of him. "Who doesn't?"

Biggs just watched him doing so, waiting for the outburst of the person who sat in said seat.

"McDowell!", a female voice came and Max turned to face him. "Stop that!"

"Stop what?", Alec asked, a devilish grin on his face.

She glared at him. "The kicking. If you kick my seat again, I will kick you in the face. That's a promise!" She turned around again.

Alec suppressed a laugh. "'That's a promise!'", he mocked and he and Biggs burst into laughter.

Max's face turned towards them again and soon a hand landed on Alec's head.

Now he was the one glaring at her, while she just smirked and looked away again.

"Interested in her, aren't you?", Biggs whispered, silent enough, so she wouldn't hear them.

The blonde looked at his best friend with wide eyes, showing confusion and even a little fear. Then he switched to his mask again and rolled his eyes. "Oh, please." He looked out of the window. "I'm so out of her league anyways." He suddenly started to kick the seat again.

Biggs heard Max mumble: "I'm so going to kill him" and he grinned quietly to himself. _Oh, boring love stories, how I've missed that._

* * *

They got out of the bus, Max smiling wide. She eyed Mr. Cale the whole time and then noticed OC rolling her eyes. "What?", she asked.

"Nothing, Boo", she said. "'s just that you're just going to hurt yourself eventually."

Max bumped her shoulder against her best friends'. "Oh, come on, OC! It's not like I'm actually planning on marrying him or whatsoever…" But suddenly she did imagine a wedding, where she stood next to Mr. Cale at the Altar, saying yes and kissing him and…

"Max!", Cindy's voice came to her, while she was tossed around by her friend. "Groups are being read."

The girls' joined the group, as Mrs. Beaver read: "Alec McDowell, uh… Biggs… Max Guevara and Cynthia McEachin – group 3."

Closing her eyes, Max groaned out in annoyance way too loud, because everyone suddenly stared at her. Opening her eyes again, she found Alec's green eyes, glittering in amusement.

She glared at him for a second, then turned away to look at Original Cindy, who was very close to break out into laughter. "Don't you dare", the brunette girl whispered and rubbed her eyes.

Now the day was going down already. Having Alec kick your seat for almost an hour in a small school bus was bad enough, but now having to work with him _the whole day_… She couldn't think of anything worse.

"… group 9. So, that's it. Get to your groups and fill in everything you can find. We meet each other here again… In 3 hours! Have fun!" With that, Mrs. Beaver gave everyone a sheet of paper and then went away.

Alec and Biggs came over to the girls and Max kept herself from rolling her eyes again. That grin on Alec's face… _Ugh, why can't he be normal?_

"Okay, ladies", he said looking at his sheet. "First stop… the monkeys."

"Why the monkeys?", Max asked, staring up at him confused. She always forgot how _tall_ he actually was! Or she was just very short. Maybe a bit of both.

Alec shrugged. "I like monkeys."

The brunette shook her head showing him the map. "The lions are much closer. Let's go there first."

Pouting, Alec nodded. "Fine. But then – monkeys."

"We'll see", she mumbled, trying to keep herself from commenting on _Alec _and _monkeys_.

They walked for a while, got the answers for the lion and went on to the monkeys. Alec just stood before them a long time, a stupid grin on his face. When everyone turned to leave, he didn't move at all.

While OC and Biggs went on, Max looked back at the blonde guy and noticed a quite sad look in his eyes. She felt the need to reach out to him, when she realized who she was thinking about. That here was _Alec_. He would manage. "Hey", she called out, her voice soft. She didn't intended it to be so soft, but now she couldn't take it back.

Alec looked at her, surprised. "Oh", he said. "Sorry", he said and went to her. He stood there for a second, right beside her, but he suddenly shook his head and went on, without a single word.

Max looked after him, feeling weirdly confused and even a little hurt.

* * *

When they were done with everything on their sheets, the four of them just sat down somewhere, ate ice-cream and talked a little.

Biggs was just telling a story about his 3 years life in Colorado. OC was listening, Alec was just staring into the sky, knowing the story already. He thought that Max was listening, too, but he noticed, how she glanced at him from time to time, her mouth opening and closing soon after.

Eventually, he was pretty annoyed, so he just got up, turning his back to his friends, apologizing and walking away. He walked around for a while, taking in the zoo, when he came to a stand right in front of the seals.

He didn't even need to turn around when he heard someone stepping up beside him. He knew exactly who this was.

"I like seals", Max said, leaning on the railing. "They have something jolly, don't you think?" She looked at him.

He stared back at her and shrugged. "Yeah, maybe." His gaze was then fixed on one single seal. _Why won't she just leave me alone?_

The brunette nodded and went silent again. They stood like that for several minutes and right when Alec had decided to turn around and leave again, she said: "What's wrong?"

His eyes met hers and he saw sincerity in them. "Nothing."

"Tell me", she demanded, scooting closer. "You can't hide it from me. I can see right through you, you know? You've let your guard down."

If anyone knew how it was to wear a mask the whole time it was Max. She didn't seem like it, but she was much more broken than she would admit. "Yeah, maybe. But it's nothing I can't figure out myself."

She reached out for him and brushed his arm, but he jumped away, afraid of her touch, fearing, that she'd burn him. "Alec, you've let your guard down", she almost whispered and he took a deep breath. He noticed, that she had just used his first name. It was something they _never_ did. Calling each other by first names. Sure, Alec called her _Maxie_ from time to time, but that was only to annoy her. Having her say his name showed, how serious she was. And the look in her eyes held understanding, no pity. It made his heart swell and he wanted to pull her into an embrace, but stopped himself. "You don't do that. Never ever."

He nodded shortly and then ran a hand through her hair, a smirk on his face. "I'm flattered that you care, Maxie, really am, but…" A sigh left him and Max grabbed the hand he just ran through her hair and held it tight. "It's nothing I can talk about, Max", he nearly whispered, resisting the urge to intertwine their fingers.

She nodded softly releasing his hand. "Okay, I just…" Max took a deep breath and stared right into Alec's eyes. "I just want you to know, that, even though I'm such a bitch to you most of the time, I'm still there if you need someone to talk. Alright?"

A little smile came to his lips and he ruffled through the young woman's hair. "I try to remember that."

Max smiled back at him and then they both started walking back to their group. Neither Biggs nor OC said anything and while getting into the bus, neither of them said anything about Max and Alec sitting down at the exact seats than before: Max right in front of Alec.

They sat in silence, when Alec started to kick her seat again. She turned to glare at him and he just smiled. Suddenly she started to giggle and turned around, out of his sight.

"You okay, Boo?", he heard OC whisper, but Max didn't stop giggling.

Instead she just said: "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I'm pretty good actually."

Alec smiled and looked out of the window, after he caught Biggs' confused expression. _Yeah. Fine. Pretty good. _I_ feel amazing._


	4. Chapter 4

**Have another chapter. I wrote this in school, maybe it's not really good, but I wanted it up as soon as possible.**

**The _Rachel_ story will go much _much_ deeper, don't worry.**

**I'll also add how much time is between each chapter (easier to understand :))**

* * *

_1 week later..._

Alec tried to force his eyes open. He was _so_ tired after being awake for almost a week, napping maybe an hour per day.

"McDowell!", said Mr. Cale and the whole class turned towards the student.

His eyes snapped open and he yawned. "Sorry, Mr. C… just tired." He smiled a little smile.

Cale rolled his eyes. "In that case, maybe you should go home. If you can't concentrate –"

"Oh, come on", said Alec and smiles a little wider. "This is IT. Easy as hell."

Mr. Cale raised an eyebrow but shrugged. "Well, it will be your exam."

Nodding, Alec closed his eyes again, trying to calm his thoughts. They were wrong and annoying. He opened one eye to look at Max and he caught her watching him. Her head snapped away and she looked at Mr. Cale again. Frowning, Alec opened both eyes and tried to catch her gaze, but she wouldn't turn around again.

"Hey, Mr. C?", Alec asked, not even bothering with raising a hand.

Cale turned away from the chalkboard and looked at Alec. "What now?"

He got up. "I'm going home, okay?"

Biggs beside him twitched his arm. "Seriously?", he whispered and Alec nodded.

He glanced at Max and noticed her stare. Now she didn't look away. She looked actually shocked and as he went out, she simply followed him, Cale asking her where she was going, but she didn't answer.

"Hey", she said, closing the door behind her. "Are you okay?"

He turned towards Max and grimaced. "Tired. That's it."

"Yeah, right", she answered and came closer. "I said you should talk to me when you feel bad!"

He rolled his eyes, which tired him out even more and he leant against the wall. "I'm tired, Max", he said, closing his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them again, she stood right in front of him. He jumped slightly, but then she touched his face and he leant into the touch. He felt her hand warm against his cheek and sighed, feeling the consciousness slip.

"Alec", she whispered and he forced his eyes open to look at her. She smiled a warm smile and he felt his heart speed up. "I am here."

This was all he needed. He leant into her more, tiredness swapping over him. "Maxie…" He slid down the wall, eyes closed and felt how Max crouched down beside him.

She ran a hand through his hair and said soothing words.

Before he slid into unconsciousness completely, he felt how Max wrapped her arms around her and he laid his head on her shoulder.

* * *

Max drew circles on Alec's back and felt him falling asleep. She sighed and tried to wrap her head around the fact, that she had allowed him – even offered him to fall asleep in her arms. In the hallway. While the others had their IT lesson. But she had seen his face. It was like he hadn't slept in weeks. He probably has been awake for days without a minute of sleep. She kept whispering soothing words. His name, that she was there, that he was safe, stuff like this. That she wouldn't leave him even. She just hoped that he wouldn't remember that.

Closing her eyes, she pulled him closer, noticing how he got colder. They sat on the cold ground. Still in thoughts, she stopped thinking and planted a kiss on his hair.

He mumbled something Max couldn't understand so she leant closer. "Rachel…"

A slight pain went through her heart and she felt the want to throw him into the next wall. _Who the hell is that Rachel girl?_, she thought, staring down at him. Not that she was jealous – hell, why would she be? She wasn't even close to Alec, they hated each other. Right?

Suddenly the door to Mr. Cale's office opened and Biggs came out, stopping for a moment, as he saw Max and Alec. "Uh…"

"Biggs", Max said and sighed in relief. "Alec fell asleep and…"

He nodded and sat down beside the girl and his best friend. "Okay. Uhm… You want to explain that position?"

She grimaced. "No, not really." She shook Alec slightly, but he wouldn't wake up. "Hey…"

The dark-haired guy took the blonds arm and shook, but it was no use. He only snuggled further into Max's neck and she felt herself blushing furiously. "Alec, hey", Biggs said, grabbing his shoulder.

"Alec", Max whispered and his eyes opened a little bit. She shoved him away carefully. "Alec, come on, you should get home…" She looked at Biggs. "But how?", she whispered.

The addressed guy nodded in thoughts and grabbed his friend from the girl. "I'll drive him home. You go in and tell Mr. Cale that… I don't know, he collapsed and I'm taking him home to his parents. I'll take his keys and drive him home, then come back. Alright?"

She nodded carefully and reached out to grab Alec's arm. "Please just go to sleep when you're home, okay?"

But he only grimaced, trying to roll his eyes, but his tiredness wouldn't allow him. "I'll be fine."

Sighing, she nodded at Biggs and went back into the classroom.

* * *

Biggs sighed when Max was out of sight and glared at his best friend. "Dude. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Alec tried to push him, but he had almost no strength. "I'm perfectly fine. Just tired."

"Just tired", Biggs repeated, as he helped Alec into his car. He then got in as well and forced his best friend to look into his eyes. "Is this about… you know…?"

The tired guy managed a glare and stared out of the window. "No, it's not."

As Biggs drove, he glanced at Alec from time to time and then started talking. "Rachel wouldn't want that."

"Shut up", Alec snapped turning to his best friend with a threatening look in his eyes. "Rachel… Just be quiet."

But he would not just shut his mouth. "It wasn't your fault, you know that." He saw Alec looking into his direction again, ready to say something, but Biggs shook his head. "Let me talk! I'm sorry to say that, god, I hate saying that, but Rachel is dead. And it wasn't your fault. She's dead because some ass drove drunk! It is hard, I understand that, damn, man. But you can't let that haunt your life. Dude, I can see the way you look at Max, but you're too scared to think about her in that way. Because you think you owe Rachel that. Which you don't."

Alec didn't answer. He just kept staring out of the window. "I can't", he whispered, closing his eyes. "I can't stop thinking about her, Biggsy. When I saw the monkeys, I… You know how much she loved monkeys. How much I… I never told her… She never knew…" He smiled sadly and when he opened his eyes, Biggs saw tears glittering in them. "And now I'm supposed to get over it, just because Max…"

When he stopped talking, Biggs jumped in. "Yes. Man, yes. Stop bathing in self-pity! Remember Rachel – god, don't even try to forget her, please don't. But you gotta see, that she is not here anymore. You can't grieve over her death forever. And you gotta sleep."

A little smile made its way over Alec's face and he closed his eyes and leant back. "Where the hell are you driving? I live 5 minutes from school."

Biggs grinned to himself. "I made a little detour."

They both began to laugh immediately and it didn't stop, even when Biggs let Alec out of the car in front of his house. He watched him walk in and once he was gone, Biggs' grin died.


	5. Chapter 5

_The next day..._

Biggs looked over where Asha sat and talked to Mr. Cale. It amused him, how she tried to grab his hand all the time and wanted him to notice her. She would often giggle and touch his arm carefully, while telling him how funny and smart he was.

Alec sat down beside his best friend, still looking tired, but not as tired as he did the day before. "I usually like Asha, but what she does there is disgusting."

A grin on his face, Biggs punched Alec's arm slightly. "Do you still want to hit on her?"

He rolled his eyes. "Nah. I don't think she will ever let go of our dear teacher." His gaze flew over to the table where Max sat together with Original Cindy and Cece and shook his head. "She's glaring at Asha again. You think she really is interested in Cale?"

Trying hard not to grin, Biggs looked at Max himself. She was really just staring at Asha and Cale, but as soon as she saw the two guys staring at her, she blushed slightly and turned towards her best friend. Biggs raised an eyebrow and smiled at Alec. "I think it's a little crush, nothing more." _Especially not after what she did yesterday…_

Shaking his head and taking a sip from his coke, Alec wouldn't stop watching Max. "Y'know… I thought about what you said yesterday… 'bout Rachel… and Max. And I think you're right. I should at least try to befriend her… But that's hard. Since I've known her, I always made fun of her, teasing her, annoying her to death."

"Maybe that's what helps you", Biggs answered, giving in to the grin. "She cares for you. Deeply, I even think. Dude, you should ask her to go to the ball with you."

"I thought you wanted to ask her?"

"Meh. I'll ask her when she rejects you."

"Woah. How kind of you", Alec answered sarcastically.

Biggs grinned once again, as he saw a tall guy approaching them.

"Alec", he said and Alec turned around.

"Joshua. What's up?"

_Joshua_ shrugged and sat down beside Alec. "Could I ask you something?"

Shrugging, Alec turned towards him. "Sure, man. Anything happened?"

Biggs stared at both of them, not saying anything. Hell, this guy was definitely a metal fan. Just looking at his long hair and the way he dressed… He gulped, not ever wanting to admit that metal heads gave him the creeps.

"Max", Joshua said shortly, looking over at her.

Raising an eyebrow Alec asked: "What about her?"

The tall fella shifted uncomfortably in his seat and closed his eyes. "She acts weird lately. I don't feel well being around her anymore."

The next second they heard Max laugh out loud and Biggs turned around to see Sketchy sitting at their table next to Cece. Now he raised an eyebrow, looking back at Alec who seemed quite pissed.

"Yeah", he agreed, taking another sip from his coke. "She does, doesn't she?"

Biggs ignored his best friend's bitching and stared eating his food, not following the conversation anymore. Somehow something annoyed him about Sketchy. He just didn't know what exactly.

* * *

Max clapped her hands in front of her mouth to keep herself from laughing even louder. "Sketch", she whispered. "You can't say that, you're friends!"

He shrugged. "We are, but damn. Alec is some kind of freak, isn't he?"

Hiding a smirk Max nodded. "He sure is…" She looked over to him and saw Joshua sitting by his side. She raised an eyebrow and stood up abruptly. Why would Josh sit next to Alec? "I'll be back in a second."

Joshua was the kindest guy Max ever knew. So what would he want with an ass like Alec? She kept staring at him, noticing the dark lines under his eyes and tried to ignore them. But it was harder than she thought. Because somehow he got it worked, that she felt responsible for him to get some sleep. She silently cursed herself for that.

As she stood next to the guys, Alec grinned at her. "Maxie. What is it you require?"

She rolled her eyes at him and just looked at Joshua. "Hey, Josh. Everything okay?"

Joshua nodded, a little smile on his lips. "Yeah, I'm fine. And you?"

"I'm pretty good, thanks!" Max looked at Biggs and smiled politely. "Hey, Biggs."

Biggs seemed surprised, but he managed to return a charming smile. "Hello Max."

Alec raised an eyebrow and looked at his best friend confused. "Wait", he said, fixing his gaze back at the brunette girl in front of him. "He deserves a greeting but I don't? Damn, we know each other since ninth class!"

Annoyed, she shook her head. "If you weren't such a pain in the ass, I'd be nicer to you and would maybe greet you!"

He rolled his eyes and sighed, suddenly seeming annoyed as well. "If you weren't such a bitch most of the time, you would maybe see that I can be a nice bloke!"

"A bitch?", she asked and stepped closer to him.

He didn't back away, though. No, he stood up to be taller than her. "Yeah, a bitch."

She knew that everyone looked at them, it wasn't a new picture seeing those two argue and maybe fight. "Watch your mouth, McDowell. If you think I was a bitch before, then you should pay attention to when I get _really_ mad."

Alec had the nerve to smirk. "Oh, that's cute, Guevara. You think I'm afraid of you?"

Now she was mad. She glared at him and remembered how vulnerable he had looked the last day. All of that cuteness was now gone. _Oh, shit, I just thought of him as cute_, she noticed, almost drifting away. "Well", she said. "You should be."

He chuckled and leaned closer to her, whispering into her ear. "Don't be stupid. I don't want to fight you anyway."

She backed away, staring at him wide-eyed. _What the hell?!_

Alec smiled for just a second, then he waved at Biggs to follow him and together they left the cafeteria, gazed following them.

"I…", Max mumbled to herself and tried to ease her confused mind. That was so not Alec. Alec would have fought her, never admitting, that he wasn't aroused to fight her. Hell, he would never tell her that he didn't wanted to fight.

"Guevara, are you alright?", Mr. Cale's voice came from behind her and she bit her lip.

She turned around fast. "Yeah. I'm fine… It's… I'm fine." With that she ran out of the cafeteria, up to the roof where she always sat when she didn't feel fine. She sat down and stared at the sky, too confused to form a thought.

"What the fuck, Alec?", she whispered.

* * *

"Dude!", Biggs said, grabbing Alec's shoulder to spin him around. "You good?"

"I'm fine", he answered, as he leant against his locker. "Is it normal to be interested in the girl you want to punch in the face?"

Shrugging, Biggs leant beside him.

Alec enjoyed the way she had looked at him. This confused, shocked expression… He liked it when she was mad, god she was hot then, but he _loved_ it, when she was taken aback. "I hate her, man."

Biggs laughed slightly staring at the ground. "I bet you do."

The blonde turned his head towards his best friend and rolled his eyes. He knew what he was implying to and he hated the thought of it. "Shut up. They are _so_ very different and you know that."

Shrugging, the black-haired guy kept quiet, his eyes still fixed on the floor underneath him.

"Max Guevara", Alec said, as he turned around to open his locker. "I am so gonna ask you to the ball." He couldn't wait for the shocked expression she would give him after that.


	6. Chapter 6

_1 week later…_

* * *

He had tried the whole week to get to her, but Max seemed to avoid Alec. "I think she hates me", he said, as he laid his head on the table, closing his eyes.

Biggs beside him patted his back and answered: "She's just… complicated."

"_Complicated_", Alec scoffed. "She's the devil…"

"Oh, Suga", said a female voice and Alec didn't even bother to turn to her. "You ain't talking 'bout ma Boo, are ya?"

Alec looked up at OC and cringed. "What? Please, why would I talk about her?" Original Cindy sat down and smiled at Alec. "What's with that smile?"

She just shrugged and took a sip of her coke. "Listen up. You wanna come near ma Boo you gotta make the move. She really seems to fall for Mr. Cale."

He glared at particularly no one. "God, I hate this bloke. What does she see in him?"

Shrugging again, OC said: "He does look quite good, doesn't he?"

A loud groan left Alec's mouth. "Oh, come on, not you, too, Original Cindy!"

She chuckled slightly while shaking her head. "Don't worry, Suga. Original Cindy here is not interested in boys, you know that."

"You rejected me", he said, a smile on his face. "Of course I knew you weren't into guys after that."

Again, OC began to giggle. "You really so full of yourself, Alec?"

He suppressed the grimace that tried to come to his face. Of course he wasn't. But no one needed to know this.

"Anyway, there's ma Boo. See ya later", said OC while standing up.

Alec grabbed her wrist. "Hey, OC?"

She stared down at him. "What is it?"

He cleared his throat. "Is she…" He sent a glance towards Biggs who just shrugged. "Does she…?"

Shaking her head, Original Cindy leant down to whisper into Alec's ear. "She doesn't hate you, Suga. She just confused. Please keep trying to talk to her. Nicely. She's kinda annoying at the moment." When she backed away, she took off, not looking back at him once.

Alec watched, as she sat down next to Max, who turned to her best friend immediately. As he saw how they both started to whisper hectic. "I'm gonna ask her today", he said finally.

"Good", said Biggs, nodding. "Maybe then you'll stop whining."

He received a glare from his best friend, but chose to ignore it.

* * *

"What have you talked about with him?!", asked Max, shaking OC slightly.

But Original Cindy just shook her head. "Boo, we were just exchanging news. What is it, you jealous?"

Max's eyes widened in shock. "What?!", she almost yelled through the whole cafeteria. "Jealous?", she asked and let out a loud, fake laugh.

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sorry, how could I even think about something like that?"

_Alec_, Max thought, _being jealous because of _Alec_... yeah right. _"We're not even _friends_, why should I be jealous?"

OC touched her friends' arm. "Listen up, Boo. You realize you keep talking about him, don't ya? Keep whining about what an idiot he is, right?"

"Well…" Max felt her cheeks burning up. She was right. The only thing they talked about throughout the last week was Alec McDowell. "That's 'cause he is! An idiot, I mean!"

Original Cindy nodded. "I never said he wasn't. But you're interested in him."

Max stood up abruptly and noticed many people looking up at her – Alec being one of them. "I. Am. Not", she answered and then looked at the ground. "I'll get myself a coke." With that she took off. She stood in front of the machine and got herself a coke, closing her eyes, shutting everything out, when someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around quickly, looking up at Alec and almost immediately taking a step back, colliding with the drinks machine.

Alec reached out for her as if trying to steady her, but didn't touch her. "You good?"

Just nodding, she kept staring up at him, drowning in his beautiful green eyes.

"Uhm, yeah…" He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head. "Can I ask you a question?"

She shook herself to look away from his eyes and nodded again. "Sure…"

"Do you…" He grabbed her wrist and her eyes snapped to his. "Look at me." She did. Oh god, she did. Since when has he been so damn beautiful? "Do you want to go to the ball?"

Her eyes widened in shock and everything felt numb. She opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out, so she close it again. Then she wanted to nod – or shake her head? Hell, she didn't even know! But her body wouldn't move in the slightest way. _What did he just ask…?_

"With me…?", Alec asked again after Max didn't answer and then let go of her wrist. "I guess that's a no."

He turned to leave and that was when Max's brain kicked in again. She grabbed his hand to spin him around and caught his confused expression. "Yes", she answered in a voice that was way too high, but he didn't seem to care.

"Yes?", he asked, obviously surprised.

"Yes", she said again, a smile coming to her face.

"Yes", Alec whispered once again and grinned stupidly. "Good… I mean… Great!" Then his expression changed completely and Max had difficulties to read his face. "But… why?"

Blinking, Max let go of his hand. "Uh… Why not?"

The male smirked. "Well, because I'm me."

The brunette girl crossed her arms over her chest. "Why did you ask me?"

"Because you're you", he simply said, a warm smile on his lips.

Max suppressed a blush and turned away, taking her coke and rushed past him. "Fine. So next Friday night, right?"

He went after her, nodding, catching up to her. "Yeah. I'll pick you up at… 7?"

"Sounds good", she said, turning to him one last time. A grin was shown and she turned away again, nearly _running_ towards OC – and now Cece, too.

They both greeted her smiling and Max almost collapsed in her chair.

"What?", Cindy asked, seeing her best friend grinning happily.

"He asked me", she whispered and felt a blush coming to her face.

Cece almost jumped out of her chair shrieking. "Alec asked you to the ball?!"

Max shushed her immediately and her blonde friend tried to quiet down but wouldn't really manage to do so.

Original Cindy captured her friends' mouth with her left hand and turned towards her best friend. "I'm really happy for you, Boo!"

"Thank you…" She looked to Alec and caught him staring at her. But instead of looking away he just smiled and the girl couldn't stop herself from smiling back.

"This is way too cute", Cece whispered to OC.

* * *

Biggs grinned at Alec the whole day and noticed his best friend getting annoyed. "Stop looking at me like that!"

"Dude", the dark-haired guy just said. "You have a _date_ with _Max Guevara_! You think I just shut up about that?! Man, the girl no one can have and you're about to capture her!"

Rolling his eyes, Alec went a little faster. "Shut up", he murmured, looking anywhere but his friend. "I won't _capture_ her. She's a human being, not an animal."

But Biggs just laughed, sliding an arm around Alec's shoulders. "Then she'll capture _you_!"

"Cut it out, Biggsy!"

The laughing carried on.


	7. Chapter 7

**New Chapter! Sorry about "Feelings That Shouldn't Exist", but I don't really feel like writing that right now.  
I won't abandon it, but it'll take a while! Sorry!  
Now, enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

_5 days later…_

* * *

It was a stormy day. And only 4 days until the ball… Long story short, Max was freaked. She had said yes, but now she realized how stupid that might have been. Dammit, it was Alec McDowell! The stupid jerk who always tried to hit on her, because she was _hot_. Or _pretty_. But not because she was _Max_. That's what she always wanted. Someone to love her for her. Not for her body or face or whatever.

She was so close to just call him up and cancel the whole thing. Then again… it was Alec. She couldn't back down now. And no matter how bad she wanted to crawl into her bed and never come out again… Damn, it was _Alec_! No matter how much she hated him, there was always a part of her that wanted _more_.

"Argh!", Max screamed and threw a pillow across the room. She had to get out. Out of her stupid room, her stupid house, somewhere she could think about it… About him.

* * *

She made her way through the streets, staring up at the sky, sighing slightly, breathing in the fresh summer breeze. Sitting down at a café, she simply stared at the sky, ordering a hot chocolate, thinking about the way Alec would find a way to make fun of that. She hit her face in her hands, afraid, that her face might blush at the mere thought of him.

"Guevara?", said a familiar voice and Max looked up to meet hazel eyes and _now_ she blushed for sure.

"Mr. Cale", answered Max and stood up, probably embarrassing herself while doing so. "What… What are you doing here?"

He smiled a kind smile and she found herself smiling back. "Please call me Logan outside of school. I'm not _that_ much older, am I, Guevara?"

She shook her head rapidly but kept smiling. "No, of course not. And uh, you can call me Max… So, _Logan_, what are you doing here?"

When he came closer and pointed at the chair right in front of her, she nodded and he sat down. "Oh, I'm just trying to get my head clear. What about you?"

"Yeah, me too", she smiled at him when the waiter brought her the hot chocolate. He eyed Logan suspiciously and asked if he wanted something, too. He didn't, so the waiter went away, almost looking disappointed.

Logan grinned at Max. "You are really popular, are you?"

She just rolled her eyes. "Seems so." She took a sip from her hot chocolate. It tasted really good.

"Now, who asked you to the ball?"

Max chocked on her drink and coughed. "I…"

"You were asked, were you?", he asked after he made sure, that she was alright.

"Yeah, sure, more than once." She glanced down at her drink.

Logan started to grin and Max blushed even more. "Now, to whom did you say yes?"

"Alec", she said, almost whispered even.

That seemed to surprise Logan, but he kept smiling. "McDowell?" Max nodded and he grinned wider. "He's a smart guy. But he doesn't show it much, does he?"

That made her chuckle. "No, he doesn't. He never really shows who he really is or what he really feels." She stared past him into nothing. "Opening up to someone is hard, for him even more…"

Logan reached out to her and touched her arm, smiling encouragingly. "Hey", he whispered and she looked up to him. "It'll be okay, yeah?"

She smiled. "Yes, I know." Then she looked up again, meeting another pair of familiar eyes. She stood up abruptly and tried to say something, but the person turned away before she could say something. "Excuse me", she said to Logan and started running.

* * *

Alec sped up.

It shouldn't hurt him so much to see Max with Cale. Hell, he knew she had a crush on him, but seeing the other man reaching out for her and brushing her arm sent anger through his body. He shoved his hands into his pockets and closed his eyes, leaning on some wall. The look on her face when she saw him…

He then felt something tugging at his wrist. His eyes snapped open and he stared down at Max, who wouldn't meet his eyes. "Hey", she whispered.

"Hey", he said, not moving a bit.

"That back there…"

"You don't owe me an explanation, Maxie. I'm good."

She raised an eyebrow when she finally met his eyes. "Yeah, right. Alec, we were just talking, I wasn't…"

Shaking his head, Alec removed Max's hand from his wrist. "I don't care, Max. Do whatever the fuck you want." With that he turned to leave, but he saw the change in her face. Almost as if she was hurt…

"Fine!", she yelled after him. "Then you can go to the ball alone!"

Alec turned around again, looking at her shocked. "What?"

But Max just shrugged. "If I can do _whatever the fuck I want_, hell, then I'll just stay home."

He went back to her, his mind raging with thought. _No no no no no, don't let her go, not her._ He didn't stop once and once he stood in front of her, he pulled her into an embrace.

At first she stiffened, afraid to move a muscle, but once she understood what was going on, she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his neck, inhaling his scent.

They stood like that for a few minutes, both with their eyes closed. Then Alec kissed her forehead and pulled away. "What now?"

Max blushed furiously and Alec tried not to think about how good that looked on her and how much he'd like to see this blush after they were in bed… He shook his head and stared at her. "Friday, 7 pm, don't be late."

He chuckled, and reached out to grab her hands. "I'll bring you home."

Smiling, she squeezed his hands back. "Fine."

They walked in silence for a while and suddenly he felt her leaning into him. He stared down at her and then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "What's up with you?"

She glanced up at him, sighing. "Hey, let me be nice once, alright?" With that she wrapped an arm around his waist and they walked like that, keeping the silent between them.

But it wasn't oppressive, it was pleasant and he pitied it, when they reached her house. They stood in front of it for a few minutes and looked at each other but then it became embarrassing for both of them and Alec said goodbye, kissing her cheek before he went away. He watched her closing the door behind her and made his way home, grinning like an idiot.

* * *

**So, guys, next chapter will be mostly about Biggs! As much as I love to write about Max and Alec, that was not exactly what I intended to get from this fanfic! Stay tuned!**


	8. Chapter 8

_The next day..._

* * *

"You didn't kiss her?"

Alec buried his face in his hands. Biggs tried hard not to laugh as he slapped his best friends arm. "Oh, I'm disappointed in you, man!"

"Shut up, Biggsy", Alec mumbled. "I couldn't do that. She didn't want that. She…"

"How do you know?", Biggs asked, leaning into his friend. "Maybe she wanted you to kiss her? What if she was sad about it, maybe crying later on?"

Now Alec looked up, smirking slightly. "Yeah, right. Max and crying, funny, really."

"McDowell, is there a problem?", Cale asked and everyone turned towards the student.

Alec just smiled at him. "Nah, no problem at all." He glanced at Max and when their gazes met, she turned away, staring at the teacher again.

Mr. Cale rolled his eyes and faced the blackboard again.

Biggs chuckled slightly, poking Alec's side. "Hey, it's okay", he whispered.

"Okay?", Alec asked, staring at the back of Max' head. "This is _everything_ but _okay_. She probably hates me."

"That's no news", Biggs answered, smirking slightly, copying what stood on the board.

Alec glared at his friend for a minute, then he laid his head on the table. "Whatever."

* * *

Biggs opened the door to his flat, sighing, while he threw his things to the ground. "I'm home!", he called, not even bothering with an answer by his father. He went straight into his room and closed the door, locking it.

The first thing he did was to sit down on his chair and just stare at nothing. He took a deep breath and turned on the computer and logged into facebook. _21 new messages_, he thought, quickly shutting the page down again. He hated it. Hated the attention he got from all those girls. He always acted like it was everything to him, but he couldn't stand it.

He looked up at his corkboard and smiled at the pictures that greeted him. Many of them were Alec or Biggs and Alec. Some featured Lola, Biggs ex-girlfriend. He smiled a little. _Lola_, he thought. God, he missed her.

Biggs let his gaze run over all those pictures, when he noticed something odd. One picture was turned around. He knew immediately which picture it was and who did it, but he asked himself: _how?_ He took it and looked at it with sad eyes.

The picture showed Alec, an arm laid around a pretty brunette. They were around 15 when the picture was taken and Alec's face was so unbelievably happy. _Rachel_, Biggs thought, sighing slightly. He never thought that there could ever be a girl that Alec could love as much as he loved her. He never told her, though. He remembered the day that Alec came up to Biggs to tell him, that he would finally admit to Rachel that he loved him.

Biggs congratulated and encouraged him, but eventually he didn't have the guts to do so.

A few days later he wanted to do that again. He called her to come over and she agreed… But she never made it to Alec's house.

Slamming the picture down on his table, Biggs groaned loudly. If he could just turn back time… He hated it, seeing his best friend so broken over Rachel. But… But now he had Max…

_Max_, Biggs thought, looking out of the window. He cared for her deeply, but did he love her? He was after her since being a freshman.

Biggs looked at his computer and opened the facebook page again. He scrolled through his friend list until he found _Max Guevara_. He sent her: "_Hey._"

She was online and after two minutes the message was marked as "Seen". Then she typed back: "_Hey._"

"_How are you?_"

"_Fine. You?_"

"_Acceptable_."

"_Okay_."

"_I have a question_."

"_Believe it nor not, but that's what I thought_."

Biggs chuckled slightly while replying. "_You got any idea whom I could as to the ball?_"

"_Uh… Anyone._"

"_Yeah, thanks. Whom would you suggest?_"

"_Biggs, ask a girl you like. If there is one left. The ball is in three days._"

"_I knoooooooow._"

"_:)_"

"_Asha?_"

"_Sure._"

"_What do you have against her?_"

"_Nothing._"

"_Yeah, right._"

"_What, you think it's because of Logan, right?_"

"_Logan, huh?_"

"_Biggs stop it_."

"_I'm just trying to say that this is not what Alec deserves._"

"_What do you mean, 'what Alec deserves'?_"

"_You don't know Alec as well as I do._"

"_What does this have to do with anything?_"

"_Just try not to use him._"

"_Biggs, what the hell?!_"

He bit his lip. "_I didn't mean it like that. I trust you with all that, I do._"

"_Well, apparently you don't._"

"_Max…_" He searched for words.

"_No. I just… Listen, I understand that you care for him and you want to protect him. And yes, I know that his past is not enjoyable, but let me take care of that, okay?_"

Biggs gulped. "_How much do you know about his past?_"

"_Not much. Nothing, actually. But I know one name. Rachel._"

He stopped typing, just staring at his screen for a minute. After breathing in and out multiple times, he started typing again. "_Only the name?_"

"_Yes. Who is she?_"

"_That's_" He searched for the right word. "_complicated. And it's something he should tell you himself._"

"_Do you know her?_"

Biggs hated the way Max addressed Rachel, as if she was still alive… "_Yeah._"

"_Okay… There are so many questions I want to ask, but… I shouldn't. Are you scared for Alec because of Rachel?_"

"_It's just… He trusts others way too fast and that is not good for him._"

"_He can trust me._"

"_I know. I trust you, too and I don't even know you very good :p_"

"_:))_"

"_Maybe that's a trick, though…_"

"_Yeah. Maybe I'm a spy who's gonna get your best friend killed._"

"_So, you admit it?_"

"_Shut up._"

"_:D_" He thought for a second, then he added: "_What's for homework?_"

"_Maths and IT._"

"_Ugh, tell your Logan that she should stop giving us so much homework!_"

"_You won't do it anyway!_"

"_Because it's so much!_"

"_Suuuuure._"

"_:p_"

"_I'm gonna do said homework now._"

"_Let me copy?_"

"_Nope._"

"_Fiiiineeee. Hey, don't tell Alec we talked about him, okay?_"

"_Don't worry. My lips are sealed._"

"_Thanks. See you tomorrow._"

"_See ya._"

She logged out and Biggs leaned back in his chair, sighing loudly.

* * *

"What the hell is your problem, Biggsy?"

Biggs turned towards his best friend, his eyes large and confused. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you tell Max so much?!"

"How do you –"

"I have your facebook password!"

"And you _use_ it?!"

"Well… Yeah!"

"Dude!"

"What? Normally I don't spy, but you were messaging Max and I…" He trailed off, staring at the ground.

Biggs touched his shoulder. "You've fallen for her hard, haven't you?"

Alec looked up, sighing slightly. "I have to tell her about Rachel sooner or later, don't I?"

"Yeah", the dark-haired guy answered. "If you want her to trust you…"

"Ugh", made the blonde and laid his head into his neck. "Fine. If we start something… I'll tell her."

A smile came across Biggs' face. "Good." He noticed Asha coming their way. "Now wait a minute." He went towards her and stopped her with a hand on her wrist. "Hey, Asha."

She turned to look at Biggs, a little smile on her face as she noticed who stopped her. "Biggs. What's up?"

"You wanna go the ball with me?"

Asha's eyes filled with surprised, but eventually she said: "Yeah. Yes, I'd like to!"

Biggs grinned. "Good! Pick you up at 7 on Friday?"

"Sounds good to me!"

He said a goodbye and went back to his best friend. "Date for the ball; done."


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the delay. My life is kinda out of control and I don't feel well... But I managed a chapter! Yay!  
Hope you like it! Love you guys!**

* * *

_Friday evening…_

* * *

"Do I look alright?", Max asked, rotating in front of the mirror.

Zack rolled his eyes and stood up. "You look amazing, Maxie", he said, caressing her cheek.

Max smiled a little bit, looking to the ground. "Thank you…"

"Okay. So, you have two minutes. Should I play the over-protective older brother?", he joked, grinning as he checked Max's hair.

She couldn't suppress a smile and answered: "He'd probably buy that."

Zack shrugged and pulled her into a hug. "Alright. I'm so gonna do that."

When the doorbell rang, Max took a deep breath, turning towards the mirror, checking if everything was in place.

Her older brother smirked and patted her back. "I'll go downstairs and show that guy what an awesome older brother I am."

"Zack!"

* * *

Alec stood in front of the door, tacking at his suit. He's never been this nervous before, seriously. What was so different about Max Guevara, he couldn't tell.

When the door opened, he stood straighter and saw a guy in the door. Probably her older brother Zack, whom he heard about but never seen him in person. Not until now.

"Alec McDowell?" Zack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah," Alec answered after gulping and taking a deep breath. He wanted to ask if he could come in, but he didn't dare to.

Zack looked him over with a critical expression on his face. "Can I really trust you with my dear sister?"

Alec was a bit taken aback, not sure what to say, when he heard Max's voice from somewhere above. "Zack, I swear to god –"

He chuckled and waved the other blonde in. "Come in, she's waiting for you."

Alec made his way through the door and stood there, awkwardly shoving his hands into his pockets.

That's when he saw her. Max Guevara, coming down the stairs in a long, blue dress, her hair bound up to a half-pony tail, her hair falling on her shoulders in waves. Her make-up was perfectly made and she was… well, she was a goddess. No other word would've fit her.

He wanted to say something, anything, but he just couldn't.

When she reached the end of the stairs, she smiled at him and said: "You look good."

"I," Alec said, clearing his throat. "You're… gorgeous." _Not enough_, he thought. _You're perfect._

She blushed slightly but smiled. "Thank you, Alec."

"Oh, that's adorable," Zack mocked, as he reached for the camera. "Photos. Look cute together, come on."

"Zack," Max warned him, but did as he said. She stood beside him and Alec just laid an arm around her waist, pulling her a bit closer. She looked up at him, but didn't say anything, just smiled at the camera.

"Nice," Zack said after he made the last photo. "You bring her home before midnight, you hear me, McDowell?"

Alec smiled a bit. "Sure thing, Zack."

They went out of Max's house – which was big as hell, because her parents were successful business people. Alec opened the door of his 1967 Chevy Impala for Max and she slid in with a grateful smile. When he went around the car he took many deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. He sat down in the driver's seat and started the car. He put on his seat belt and began driving.

After a while Max spoke: "Nice car."

Alec glanced at her before answering: "Thanks, got it from my dad."

She nodded and looked out of the window. Her hands were in her lap and she looked pretty calm… He didn't like that she seemed so calm while he was freaking out.

"Right? Alec?"

His head shot up to her face and then back at the road. "Uh, sorry, got distracted. What did you say?"

Max rolled her eyes, but repeated: "I think it's nice that Biggs asked Asha and that she said yes."

He couldn't suppress a smile. "Oh, come on, you can't stand her and you know it."

"What?" She looked surprised. "Of course I can stand her!"

"Max, you once beat her up so bad, she had to go to the infirmary."

"Well, she started it."

"You were the first one to punch her."

She folded her arms in front of her chest and looked out of the window again.

He sighed, realizing that his behavior was… dumb. "Okay, sorry, Max. But Asha is a friend of mine and even though you're not her biggest fan, she is a nice girl. A bit naïve but…"

"A bit," Max scoffed. "She's like an 8 year old girl!"

Alec decided to leave it with that.

It was quiet in the car for a while, then Max started speaking again. "I'm sorry."

He looked at her in astonishment and shook his head. "No, nothing to worry about," he answered, pulling into the parking lot of the school. "Here we are at least… Are you ready?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's nothing big, Alec, we'll get through it."

Shrugging, Alec exited the car, going around it to open the door for Max. She got out of it and Alec smiled at her with a huge grin. "Let's make the others jealous."

"Who knows that we're coming here together?", she asked.

Alec smirked and answered: "The question is: who doesn't?"

Max groaned, as she laced her arm through his. "Let's get this over with."

"That's what I wanted to hear," he answered with a smirk as they walked into the school.

She shoved her elbow into his side and he started to choke. Max giggled but followed him into the hall.

"There you are!"

Max and Alec turned around to find Biggs standing in front of them, panting. "Biggsy? What's gotten into you?" Alec asked, raising and eyebrow.

He turned around and rolled his eyes. "Asha is a terrible date."

Alec caught Max smirking and shoved her slightly away. "Why so?"

"Look at it," Biggs said, turning around pointing at Asha, talking to Cale. "We got here and a second later she ran to _him_."

Max giggled a bit. "Yeah, that's Asha."

"Oh, come on, that would've been you if Asha wouldn't have been first," Alec scoffed, shaking his head.

The female only glared at him.

Biggs began to feel uncomfortable, so he mumbled an apology and went away, drowning in the dancing crowd. The Song _I Can Do Anything _from _3OH!3 _was playing.

Alec felt Max's anger, so he decided to ask: "What is it?" He glanced down at her.

She pushed him away from her slightly, groaning. "You think I would just jump into Logan's arms whenever I get the chance?"

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I don't want to fight right now, Max. And really not about _Logan_."

"Oh, don't say his name like that!"

"What? So you're the only one who can call him by his first name?"

"That's not what I meant."

"What is it you meant, Max?" He asked, spreading his arms out, as he leaned forwards a bit. "What are you trying to tell me? That I shouldn't be jealous because of _Logan_? Well, news flash! I am!"

Max looked up at him for a long time, opening her mouth to say something, when Biggs came to them again. "It's raining," he said, water dripping from his clothes and hair.

Alec raised an eyebrow. "Why were you outside then?"

"I need a break from…" He was silence and Alec nodded, touching his shoulder in support. He knew that his friend wasn't much into big events. "Well, I guess I try to get my date to dance with me… If I can get her off this motherf–" Alec slapped him once and then Biggs took off.

"Alec," Max said, looking at him.

He glanced back, suddenly feeling a flush coming to his cheeks. He had admitted that he has been jealous… Oh goddamn.

"Why did you never tell me that you're jealous?"

Alec scratched the back of his head and bit his lip. "I don't… It's not like I…" He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I'm not really jealous. I just… I was just well in it. You're not like that to me, I –"

"Okay," she interrupted him, nodding. "I get it." With that she turned around and walked away.

"Max?!" Alec went after her, fighting himself through the crowd. "Hey– Can I– Max!"

But she was already out the door. Alec clenched his jaw and went after her, outside, into the pouring rain, where she went away. He caught up, took her wrist and spun her around. What he saw made him take a step back… Max was crying.


End file.
